Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with sensitive findings

A multisystem disorder?

Resumen

Introduction. Classical amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is not hard to diagnose, but when it comes to atypical forms of motor neuron disease (MND) which account for about 20% in clinical setting, we may face some difficulties in differentiating clearly between atypical forms of ALS/MND and other non-ALS diseases, such as multifocal motor neuropathy, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy and cervical spondylosis. Association between neuropathy and ALS has been reported rarely. Method. We report a patient who presented with clinical/electrophysiological features and investigations suggestive of chronic neuropathy but who later progressed with anterior horn and pyramidal signs and received a final diagnosis of ALS according to the original El Escorial criteria. Conclusion. Our findings support the hypothesis that ALS is a multisystem neurodegenerative disorder that may occasionally include neuropathy among its non-motor features.